The Way We Eat Now: how the food revolution has transformed our lives, our bodies, and our world by Bee Wilson
In the past two generations food and what we eat has changed massively. There are more and more food options, yet somehow there are also more and more disease and ailments related to diet now than ever before. In The Way We Eat Now, Bee Wilson explores all the ways our eating and diet have changed - for better and for worse - and what we can do to eat better now. Each chapter focuses on one aspect or change to our modern diets from high calorie/nutrient deficient food (fast food and junk food) to the rise of meal kits and food delivery services. One really interesting point she makes is that she thinks the rise in so many restrictive diets (keto, paleo, vegan, etc.) is in response to the overwhelming amount of food choices today. If your diet doesn't "allow" certain foods, you don't have to be the one deciding what to eat. Another interesting paradox is that while meat kits and food delivery services are on an astronomical rise, home cooking is also on the rise despite what media tries to tell us. This is a very interesting look at our current food culture, how we got here, and how we can try to make things better in the future. There are a LOT of research and data in this book, but it's still very readable and not overly dense or scientific. If you're interested in food at all this is a great book to read.
Some quotes I liked:
"There is still a very widespread view that the best way to counteract the rise of obesity is to shame the fat into being less so. The beliefs exist even among policy makers and healthcare professionals. In 2008, a Mississippi State House bill was proposed to prohibit restaurants from serving food to any person who was obese. In the end, the bill didn't pass, but the very fact that it was mooted shows the extent to which weight stigma is still - despite all the evidence to the contrary - regarded as a useful public health tool." (p. 72)
"A significant problem with group 4 foods [highly processed food] from the point of view of consumer health is that they cannot be altered. With a jar of sugar or a bottle of oil in your hand, you as the cook are free to use as much or as little as you like. You might decide to use less sugar in a cake recipe or a dash less oil in a stir-fry. When you are presented with sugar and oil in the form of a doughnut or frozen pizza, the decisions about how much of each ingredient to add have already been made for you. Your only choice is which brand to buy and how much of it to eat." (p. 87)
"Like much of what we eat, sliced industrial bread is a compromise. But at any given time, we compromise more on certain foods than on others. And the choices we make with our money tell us something about what our culture holds to be important...The devaluation of bread speaks of a culture that has stopped seeing food as a fundamental need and started seeing it as a kind of leisure activity." (p. 90)
"When incomes rise, people want to buy the things that prove to themselves that they are living the good life. Sad to say, better bread and higher-quality eggs do not seem to fit the bill. Just because we can afford these foods does not mean that we think they are worth the extra money. The foods that people spend more money on as soon as they have the spare cash tend to be the old prestige foods such as meat - the ones that an earlier generation associated with wealth and success, even if they are now cheapened beyond recognition." (p. 101)
"In 1900, the average American worked 2,700 hours a year. By 2015, the average American worked just 1,790 hours a year and owned a kitchen containing whizzy time-saving gadgets his or her ancestors could only dream of. When we say we lack time to cook - or even time to eat - we are not making a simple statement of fact. We are talking about cultural values and the way that our society dictates that our days should be carved up. The changing rhythms of life have affected our eating in some profound and surprising ways. A sense of time pressure leads us to eat different foods and to eat them in new ways. A collective obsession with not wasting time has contributed to the rise of the snack and the fall of the cooked breakfast, to a rise in convenience foods and the death of the lunch hour." (p. 116-17)
"To read Pomiane is to be reminded that what is often lost today is not the time to eat per se so much as the sense that we are entitled to sit and enjoy our meals, relishing every bite, no matter how long or short the time available for them. For Pomiane, a simply cooked meal of delicious food - and wine, and coffee - was a way to enjoy what little free time an individual might have. Today, by contrast, many people see free time as the thing you get to only after you are done with eating." (p. 136)
"But the rise of eating out has brought problems as well as pleasures. One of the problems is that when special-occasion food becomes a regular occurrence, we don't seem to derive quite the same degree of pleasure from it as before. A team of British food sociologists conducted two studies on attitudes to eating out, first in 1995 and again in 2015. Back in 1995, the sociologists found that most British people - based on a sample of just over a thousand - considered eating out to be very special...They spoke of being entertained and gratified by every aspect of a restaurant meal: the company, the food, the sense that they were participating in an event. It was as if they were determined to derive satisfaction from the experience. When the survey was repeated in 2015, the respondents had lost much of that sense of joy. Eating out now happened much more frequently for most people than twenty years earlier, so much so that they had started to take it for granted. Yet the more of it they did, the less they reported enjoying it. Much of the old specialness and sense of occasion had gone." (p. 187)
"If we never give food the time that it is due, we are effectively saying it doesn't matter. I once met a woman who said that people often asked how she had time to cook. 'How do you have time to watch television?' she would reply." (p. 303)
Some quotes I liked:
"There is still a very widespread view that the best way to counteract the rise of obesity is to shame the fat into being less so. The beliefs exist even among policy makers and healthcare professionals. In 2008, a Mississippi State House bill was proposed to prohibit restaurants from serving food to any person who was obese. In the end, the bill didn't pass, but the very fact that it was mooted shows the extent to which weight stigma is still - despite all the evidence to the contrary - regarded as a useful public health tool." (p. 72)
"A significant problem with group 4 foods [highly processed food] from the point of view of consumer health is that they cannot be altered. With a jar of sugar or a bottle of oil in your hand, you as the cook are free to use as much or as little as you like. You might decide to use less sugar in a cake recipe or a dash less oil in a stir-fry. When you are presented with sugar and oil in the form of a doughnut or frozen pizza, the decisions about how much of each ingredient to add have already been made for you. Your only choice is which brand to buy and how much of it to eat." (p. 87)
"Like much of what we eat, sliced industrial bread is a compromise. But at any given time, we compromise more on certain foods than on others. And the choices we make with our money tell us something about what our culture holds to be important...The devaluation of bread speaks of a culture that has stopped seeing food as a fundamental need and started seeing it as a kind of leisure activity." (p. 90)
"When incomes rise, people want to buy the things that prove to themselves that they are living the good life. Sad to say, better bread and higher-quality eggs do not seem to fit the bill. Just because we can afford these foods does not mean that we think they are worth the extra money. The foods that people spend more money on as soon as they have the spare cash tend to be the old prestige foods such as meat - the ones that an earlier generation associated with wealth and success, even if they are now cheapened beyond recognition." (p. 101)
"In 1900, the average American worked 2,700 hours a year. By 2015, the average American worked just 1,790 hours a year and owned a kitchen containing whizzy time-saving gadgets his or her ancestors could only dream of. When we say we lack time to cook - or even time to eat - we are not making a simple statement of fact. We are talking about cultural values and the way that our society dictates that our days should be carved up. The changing rhythms of life have affected our eating in some profound and surprising ways. A sense of time pressure leads us to eat different foods and to eat them in new ways. A collective obsession with not wasting time has contributed to the rise of the snack and the fall of the cooked breakfast, to a rise in convenience foods and the death of the lunch hour." (p. 116-17)
"To read Pomiane is to be reminded that what is often lost today is not the time to eat per se so much as the sense that we are entitled to sit and enjoy our meals, relishing every bite, no matter how long or short the time available for them. For Pomiane, a simply cooked meal of delicious food - and wine, and coffee - was a way to enjoy what little free time an individual might have. Today, by contrast, many people see free time as the thing you get to only after you are done with eating." (p. 136)
"But the rise of eating out has brought problems as well as pleasures. One of the problems is that when special-occasion food becomes a regular occurrence, we don't seem to derive quite the same degree of pleasure from it as before. A team of British food sociologists conducted two studies on attitudes to eating out, first in 1995 and again in 2015. Back in 1995, the sociologists found that most British people - based on a sample of just over a thousand - considered eating out to be very special...They spoke of being entertained and gratified by every aspect of a restaurant meal: the company, the food, the sense that they were participating in an event. It was as if they were determined to derive satisfaction from the experience. When the survey was repeated in 2015, the respondents had lost much of that sense of joy. Eating out now happened much more frequently for most people than twenty years earlier, so much so that they had started to take it for granted. Yet the more of it they did, the less they reported enjoying it. Much of the old specialness and sense of occasion had gone." (p. 187)
"If we never give food the time that it is due, we are effectively saying it doesn't matter. I once met a woman who said that people often asked how she had time to cook. 'How do you have time to watch television?' she would reply." (p. 303)
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
Six years after ending her friendship with Drue Cavanaugh, Daphne Berg is doing great. She's become a plus-size Instagram influencer and just landed a huge collaboration that could take her influencer career to the next level. So, when Drue shows up to apologize and ask Daphne to be in her wedding Daphne is hesitant. Every time she's let Drue back in she gets hurt. But, in the end she agrees out of respect for their shared history and also for the chance to spend a weekend in a Cape Cod luxury mansion. But, when something terrible happens to Drue during the wedding weekend, Daphne feels she owes it to her friend to find out what really happened. And in the end she also finds out more about Drue and their friendship really meant.
I'm a big Jennifer Weiner fan, but I didn't love this one. It was a great beach read - and that's actually where I read it over two days at the beach. But, I felt like Drue and Daphne were more caricatures than fully developed characters - especially Drue. Based on what ended their friendship and Daphne's realizations about their childhood friendship I don't think she would have agreed to be in the wedding. It was just VERY quick and seemed out of character for Daphne. Weiner had a previous book, Goodnight Nobody that was more of a mystery than her typical books. Big Summer has that same feel. I'm not a big mystery fiction fan and I was disappointed by both of Weiner's mystery-type books. She is an amazing author, but this one just felt like too much fluff and not much substance.
I'm a big Jennifer Weiner fan, but I didn't love this one. It was a great beach read - and that's actually where I read it over two days at the beach. But, I felt like Drue and Daphne were more caricatures than fully developed characters - especially Drue. Based on what ended their friendship and Daphne's realizations about their childhood friendship I don't think she would have agreed to be in the wedding. It was just VERY quick and seemed out of character for Daphne. Weiner had a previous book, Goodnight Nobody that was more of a mystery than her typical books. Big Summer has that same feel. I'm not a big mystery fiction fan and I was disappointed by both of Weiner's mystery-type books. She is an amazing author, but this one just felt like too much fluff and not much substance.
Saving Jemima: life and love with a hard-luck Jay by Julie Zickefoose
Julie Zickefoose has rehabilitated dozens of song birds and lives on a property she's made into a bird sanctuary. So, when someone contacted her on Facebook about an abandoned baby blue jay she immediately takes in the bird she names Jemima. Once Jemima is out of danger her intellect and instincts are on display all the time. She treats each member of the family differently - including their old dog Chet Baker. Unlike almost all the wild birds Julie rehabilitated, Jemima keeps coming back after she's been released into the wild. It's almost as if she's decided to have the best of both worlds - living in the wild with other jays, but also coming home for special food and attention. A little more than half way through the book the author explains what was going on in her personal life when she took in Jemima - both of her kids were either in college or about to be, her dog was elderly and going downhill, and her husband of more than 20 years was moving out. That would have been better to be at the beginning of the book because it explained SO MUCH about her attachment to Jemima. I just thought she was a very neurotic bird lady until that chapter explained more. I'm not sure why she placed that where she did in the book, but in my opinion it would have made much more sense to explain that from the beginning. The author is also an artist and photographer, so the book is filled with beautiful illustrations and photographs. I didn't love this book as much as I have other animal books, but honestly the photos and illustrations kept me going. I would recommend this more to a hardcore bird watcher/lover than the average animal person like me who is just looking for a unique animal story/book. But, the author is a very talented artist, so maybe pick up the book just to see her artwork and photography.
Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
At the end of the Civil War Simon Boudlin was finally conscripted into the Confederate army. He had been running and avoiding conscription since the war started. At least he ended up in the regimental band because of his fiddle playing. The other men in the band stick together during one final battle and at the surrender. Once the Confederate army is disbanded, Simon and the other musicians strike out to make money with their music. At a party after the surrender Simon meets Doris Dillon, an indentured servant from Ireland working for a Union military Colonel and his family. Working his way through Texas, Simon works to make money and get closer to Doris. He eventually finds his way to her and realizes her situation with the Colonel's family is terrible and is even more determined to rescue her and make a better life for them on land he's buying. Simon's first love is music and he's an incredibly talented musician, but he's also quick-tempered and proud which often leads to fights. But, he and his friends work together to make a life for themselves in the hard scrabble, post-Civil War wilderness of Texas. Beautifully written and now Jiles has written three books that tie in characters during the same time period in post-Civil War Texas - The Color of Lightning, News of the World, and now Simon the Fiddler. My favorite is still News of the World, but this one is right there just behind it. I would love to have a sequel and see what happens further for Simon and Doris or a book with Damon Lessing's back story.
A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings: a year of keeping bees by Helen Jukes
Helen Jukes is living in Oxford, England and is struggling in her personal life. She's started a new job that she thought would be great, but it's very stressful and draining. She's moved around a lot so many of her friends aren't nearby. When she was living in London she started helping a friend who was an urban beekeeper and she starts thinking about getting a hive for the backyard of her rental house. Thinking about, then planning for her beehive enlivens Helen. She starts making new beekeeping friends and finds that the bees keep her more engaged and feel better overall. She even ends up finding a new love interest through the bees as well.
This book got such great reviews, but I didn't really like it. It was compared a lot to H is for Hawk which also got rave reviews and I HATED that one. But, since this one was about bees I wanted to give it a try. I didn't hate this one, but I just wasn't as into it. Helen gets really into the history of beekeeping and some weird semi bee-related tangents that I felt didn't really help the book. I also just didn't find her very interesting or relatable. I do miss keeping bees and plan to try again, but I didn't love this book. I personally wouldn't recommend it.
This book got such great reviews, but I didn't really like it. It was compared a lot to H is for Hawk which also got rave reviews and I HATED that one. But, since this one was about bees I wanted to give it a try. I didn't hate this one, but I just wasn't as into it. Helen gets really into the history of beekeeping and some weird semi bee-related tangents that I felt didn't really help the book. I also just didn't find her very interesting or relatable. I do miss keeping bees and plan to try again, but I didn't love this book. I personally wouldn't recommend it.
The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
I put this book on hold because I love organizing books. I didn't know about the author's previous book or the Netflix show until the book came in. I didn't feel like there was much organizing info or help at all in the book - just a lot of beautiful, perfect, rainbow color-coordinated pictures. And most of the pictures were of HUGE spaces that the average person is not going to have in their house. I would LOVE to have a huge closet for all my stockpiled lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. but I don't so I have to work with what I have - this book didn't help in that way at all. While it's pretty to look at it wasn't very helpful in any real-life way. A lot of the reviews talked about how they liked the book better after watching the show, so I may check the show out just to see. Even if it is huge celebrity houses, I love a good "before and after" show.
She Said: breaking the sexual harassment story that helped ignite a movement by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey
On October 5, 2017 Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published an article outlining decades of sexual harassment and payoffs to women by Harvey Weinstein. Kantor and Twohey spent months secretly interviewing women, former employees, actresses, and business associates of Weinstein. For a variety of reasons, they had trouble getting many women to go on the record with their allegations. A brave few did and once the story was published a veritable tsunami of women came forward with their own allegations against Weinstein - so many that the author could barely keep up with all of them, much less use them all in subsequent articles. This article broke shortly after the #metoo movement started, the Women's March in January 2017, and Trump's election (and his own history with sexual allegations and payoffs). The timing was unplanned, but perfect. Women were finally ready to start telling their stories and not be as afraid of the consequences. But, did any real change happen? Yes, Weinstein was forced to step down and did face some (subsequent) criminal charges, and many men in positions of power were called out and forced to step down as well. But, will things really change for future women? That still remains to be seen.
It was really fascinating to get to see the "behind the scenes" of this story. It's heartbreaking to see successful, famous women still be afraid to speak out about a powerful man. If these women with money and support are still afraid, it helps you to understand more why the average woman may not speak out if/when something happens to her. The majority of the book is the behind the scenes research Kantor and Twohey did for this article, but the last 2 chapters are about Dr. Christine Ford and the Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings. Several reviews I read said this part of the book just seemed stuck in and I do agree. While there is a link to the authors and Dr. Ford, it was small. I think because this happened after their article came out and is related in topic they wanted to include it, but it did feel forced. It was interesting to see the behind the scenes with Dr. Ford and what transpired in order for her to testify before the Senate and the personal backlash for her and her family. The Epilogue was really interesting as the authors get several of the women together in person for a final interview. For these women who had already agreed to speak out to come together became even more empowering for them and their resolve in what they did. Definitely an interesting book, but I think they could have left out the Dr. Ford/Kavanaugh chapters in order to just really focus on the Weinstein case/story.
Some quotes I liked:
"From what Steel was learning, the language of the deals made them look less like aboveboard legal transactions and more like cover-ups. The agreements included one restrictive clause after another. The women were obliged to turn over all their evidence - audio recordings, diaries, emails, backup files, any other shred of proof - to O'Reilly and his lawyers. They and in one case their attorneys were prohibited from helping any other women who might have similar claims against the host. If they received subpoenas compelling them to talk, they were required to notify O'Reilly and his team, who could fight their being called to testify...Whatever O'Reilly had or hadn't done to the women was thus dropped down a deep well, never to be recovered. Cash for silence; that was the deal." (p. 52-3)
"Jodi cut to the point: The United States had a system for muting sexual harassment claims, which often enabled the harassers instead of stopping them. Women routinely signed away the right to talk about their own experiences. Harassers often continued onward, finding fresh ground on which to commit the same offenses. The settlements and confidentiality agreements were almost never examined in law school classrooms or open court. This was why the public had never really understood that this was happening. Even those in the room with long histories of covering gender issues had never fully registered what was going on." (p. 54)
[Just before the article broke Harvey Weinstein's contract was renewed with TWC] "The company would put a new code of conduct in place. If it ever had to pay settlements as a result of Weinstein's misconduct, Weinstein would be required to cover the costs and be hit with a further series of financial penalties - $250,000 for the first settlement, $500,000 for the second, and so on, up to a million dollars, a whole fee structure for potential future allegations. The contract specified that Weinstein could also be terminated for misconduct. It almost read as if the company expected Weinstein to keep accumulating allegations and that the resultant financial penalties could take care of the problem." (p. 131)
"No one could ever predict how speaking out would go. Forecasting was futile. Once a story was publicly told for the first time, there was no telling what might happen, who might read it, or what others might echo, add, or disagree with. There was no guarantee of affirmation or impact. The results could be wrenching, empowering, or both. But this was what everyone in the room, and more people beyond it, now understood: If the story was not shared, nothing would change. Problems that are not seen cannot be addressed. In our world of journalism, the story was the end, the result, the final product. But in the world at large, the emergence of new information was just the beginning - of conversation, action, change." (p. 260)
It was really fascinating to get to see the "behind the scenes" of this story. It's heartbreaking to see successful, famous women still be afraid to speak out about a powerful man. If these women with money and support are still afraid, it helps you to understand more why the average woman may not speak out if/when something happens to her. The majority of the book is the behind the scenes research Kantor and Twohey did for this article, but the last 2 chapters are about Dr. Christine Ford and the Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings. Several reviews I read said this part of the book just seemed stuck in and I do agree. While there is a link to the authors and Dr. Ford, it was small. I think because this happened after their article came out and is related in topic they wanted to include it, but it did feel forced. It was interesting to see the behind the scenes with Dr. Ford and what transpired in order for her to testify before the Senate and the personal backlash for her and her family. The Epilogue was really interesting as the authors get several of the women together in person for a final interview. For these women who had already agreed to speak out to come together became even more empowering for them and their resolve in what they did. Definitely an interesting book, but I think they could have left out the Dr. Ford/Kavanaugh chapters in order to just really focus on the Weinstein case/story.
Some quotes I liked:
"From what Steel was learning, the language of the deals made them look less like aboveboard legal transactions and more like cover-ups. The agreements included one restrictive clause after another. The women were obliged to turn over all their evidence - audio recordings, diaries, emails, backup files, any other shred of proof - to O'Reilly and his lawyers. They and in one case their attorneys were prohibited from helping any other women who might have similar claims against the host. If they received subpoenas compelling them to talk, they were required to notify O'Reilly and his team, who could fight their being called to testify...Whatever O'Reilly had or hadn't done to the women was thus dropped down a deep well, never to be recovered. Cash for silence; that was the deal." (p. 52-3)
"Jodi cut to the point: The United States had a system for muting sexual harassment claims, which often enabled the harassers instead of stopping them. Women routinely signed away the right to talk about their own experiences. Harassers often continued onward, finding fresh ground on which to commit the same offenses. The settlements and confidentiality agreements were almost never examined in law school classrooms or open court. This was why the public had never really understood that this was happening. Even those in the room with long histories of covering gender issues had never fully registered what was going on." (p. 54)
[Just before the article broke Harvey Weinstein's contract was renewed with TWC] "The company would put a new code of conduct in place. If it ever had to pay settlements as a result of Weinstein's misconduct, Weinstein would be required to cover the costs and be hit with a further series of financial penalties - $250,000 for the first settlement, $500,000 for the second, and so on, up to a million dollars, a whole fee structure for potential future allegations. The contract specified that Weinstein could also be terminated for misconduct. It almost read as if the company expected Weinstein to keep accumulating allegations and that the resultant financial penalties could take care of the problem." (p. 131)
"No one could ever predict how speaking out would go. Forecasting was futile. Once a story was publicly told for the first time, there was no telling what might happen, who might read it, or what others might echo, add, or disagree with. There was no guarantee of affirmation or impact. The results could be wrenching, empowering, or both. But this was what everyone in the room, and more people beyond it, now understood: If the story was not shared, nothing would change. Problems that are not seen cannot be addressed. In our world of journalism, the story was the end, the result, the final product. But in the world at large, the emergence of new information was just the beginning - of conversation, action, change." (p. 260)
This is All I Got: a new mother's search for home by Lauren Sandler
Lauren Sandler wanted to follow a homeless mother for a year in order to write about her story and the effect of poverty and homelessness on a new mother. She meets Camila at a private shelter run by a Catholic charity. Camila is twenty-two, graduated from high school and was enrolled in college before her pregnancy derailed her plans. She grew up in poverty with an abusive and mentally ill mother who kicked her out as a teenager. After that Camila lived in group homes and finally on her own. Despite her circumstances growing up Camila was smart and determined to do better with her life. And she was - until she got pregnant. Camila knew the social services system - all the rules, all the intricacies and contradictions, often more than the employees she interacted with. But, that still didn't help her get out of poverty with her child. Sandler follows Camila and her son from the day he's born until shortly after his first birthday. Along the way Camila tries desperately to find some permanent housing and continue going to college, but time after time she hits roadblocks. She can't get child support without a DNA test proving paternity - that takes until her son is 9 months old - even though she knows who the father is. She's expected to either work or be going to school to qualify for state aid money, but is required to go to offices spread all over New York City and wait for hours only to find out they lost a paper or a form is now outdated, etc.
Camila's story highlights just how little help there is for struggling people - even less so for single parents. But, it also highlights how if she just had some small measure of help - a family member's house to crash at for a few months, her son's father willing to pay for diapers or food or helping care for their son, a day care closer to her school, etc. could make a HUGE difference in her and her son's life. With none of this Camila is 100% on her own and toward the end of her son's first year she is barely surviving. When the author catches back up with her a few years later it's clear she's been struggling just as much all along and ended up dropping out of college. And while you feel terrible for Camila, it's hard not to judge her mistakes and choices. She starts dating someone and thinks she's pregnant again when her son is 5 months old - I was like WHY ARE YOU NOT USING BIRTH CONTROL?!?! When she comes into some money from an workplace injury lawsuit she decides to use some of it to go to the Dominican Republic where her family is from. But, you're thinking you're homeless and you're going on vacation?! In her son's first year she dates and tries to find a partner, but each guy seems worst than the one before. Overall, it's a hard and sad book to read, but it does make me realize how much of a safety net I had growing up with my family. Just one or two small things could have made all the difference for Camila and her son. I would be curious for the author to follow up with her in another few years and see what if anything has changed for her.
A quote I liked:
"Camila gripped hope in her fists so tightly it was like she was trying to transform it into reality by pure pressure." (p. 46)
Camila's story highlights just how little help there is for struggling people - even less so for single parents. But, it also highlights how if she just had some small measure of help - a family member's house to crash at for a few months, her son's father willing to pay for diapers or food or helping care for their son, a day care closer to her school, etc. could make a HUGE difference in her and her son's life. With none of this Camila is 100% on her own and toward the end of her son's first year she is barely surviving. When the author catches back up with her a few years later it's clear she's been struggling just as much all along and ended up dropping out of college. And while you feel terrible for Camila, it's hard not to judge her mistakes and choices. She starts dating someone and thinks she's pregnant again when her son is 5 months old - I was like WHY ARE YOU NOT USING BIRTH CONTROL?!?! When she comes into some money from an workplace injury lawsuit she decides to use some of it to go to the Dominican Republic where her family is from. But, you're thinking you're homeless and you're going on vacation?! In her son's first year she dates and tries to find a partner, but each guy seems worst than the one before. Overall, it's a hard and sad book to read, but it does make me realize how much of a safety net I had growing up with my family. Just one or two small things could have made all the difference for Camila and her son. I would be curious for the author to follow up with her in another few years and see what if anything has changed for her.
A quote I liked:
"Camila gripped hope in her fists so tightly it was like she was trying to transform it into reality by pure pressure." (p. 46)
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